When did NASA lose contact with the Maven spacecraft?

NASA lost contact with the Maven spacecraft on December 6, 2025.

What unusual event may have happened to the Maven spacecraft?

Analysis of a brief signal suggests the Maven spacecraft was rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars.

What facilities is NASA using to try and contact the Maven probe?

NASA is using its Deep Space Network and the US National Science Foundation's Green Bank Observatory.

Home / Science / Lost Mars Probe Goes Silent: NASA Scrambles to Reconnect

Lost Mars Probe Goes Silent: NASA Scrambles to Reconnect

27 Jan

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Summary

NASA lost contact with the $582.5 million Maven spacecraft on December 6, 2025.
A brief signal suggests the probe rotated unexpectedly after emerging from behind Mars.
Efforts to reconnect use the Deep Space Network and Green Bank Observatory.

Lost Mars Probe Goes Silent: NASA Scrambles to Reconnect

NASA is intensifying efforts to recontact its Maven spacecraft, which mysteriously lost communication on December 6, 2025, over Mars. This $582.5 million mission, launched in 2013 to study Martian atmospheric loss, went dark after passing behind the Red Planet. A brief fragment of tracking data recovered from December 6 indicated the spacecraft might have been rotating unexpectedly.

Communication attempts were temporarily paused due to solar conjunction but have now resumed. NASA is leveraging its Deep Space Network, with facilities in California, Madrid, and Canberra, alongside the US National Science Foundation's Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. This observatory is located within a National Radio Quiet Zone to facilitate sensitive astronomical observations.